The present invention is directed to bicycles and, more particularly, to various features of a bicycle braking apparatus.
Brake control devices that operate brake mechanisms usually are mounted to the handlebar of a bicycle. A brake control device usually comprises a mounting bracket that is mounted to the handlebar and a lever member that is movably mounted to the mounting bracket. The lever member is mounted such that it can move from a brake release position toward the handlebar. Unless they are opposite levers, lever members are disposed such that, irrespective of the handlebar configuration, the tips thereof open toward the ends of the handlebar. The lever member is connected to the brake mechanism via a brake wire or a hydraulic apparatus, and normally pressure is constantly applied to the lever member in the direction of the brake release position. The rider applies the brake by grasping the tip of the lever member using his or her fingers and pulling the lever member toward the handlebar, and disengages the brake by relaxing the force on the lever member and letting it return toward the brake release position.
Normally, the torque applied to the lever member increases as the point at which pressure is applied to the lever member moves away from the axis of movement. Such increased torque makes it easy to operate the brake mechanism with a small amount of force. With a conventional lever member described above, the brake release position often is set at a specific position in accordance with the size of the average hand. As a result, when the rider's hand is small, the tip of the lever member can be located too far from the handlebar for the rider to reach easily. As a result, the lever member must be grasped at a point closer to the axis of movement, i.e., at a point on the lever member that is closer to the handlebar than the tip of the lever, thus decreasing the amount of torque applied to the lever member for a given amount of force. Thus, a rider with relatively small hands must exert even more force to operate the brake mechanism than a typical rider with average-sized hands.
It has been proposed to move the brake release position of the lever member closer to the handlebar by mounting an adjustment member between the mounting bracket and the lever member. However, if it is sought to move the brake release position closer to the handlebar via an adjustment member, the adjustment member mounting operation must be performed easily and reliably, with a minimum of inconvenience.